Holiday Time
by akabetty
Summary: A series of itty-bitty, incy-wincy short drabbles centered around a friend's Shepard. Kaidan takes a lovely, spitfire FemShep home to Vancouver to meet his parents and to ring in the holidays. Just a bit of fluff for the season.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh come on, let me drive."

"No way."

"A car isn't like the Mako, Kaidan."

"You sure you can tell the difference?"

She slaps his arm playfully and he grins. She sits back, crossing her arms and huffing just enough to make the little errant strands of her hair flop and static cling to the side of her face. He watches her from the corner of his eye, the way she follows the rapid landscape through the car window, the way she hums lightly when the silence drags.

They have four more hours and he's happy - more than happy. He never thought he would get her off the Citadel, let alone bring her home for the holidays. His mom was going to flip.


	2. Chapter 2

His mom was waiting when they arrived. She stood on the huge wrap around porch, hand over her eyes to shield from the sun. It was a familiar sight and he grinned when he thought of the smells and warmth of the orchard house, and how excited he was to show Ani where he had grown up.

He knew her childhood wasn't the best case, but the Alliance had taken her in, sheltered her and shaped her into the woman he knew now.

"Kaidan!" His mom shouted and he waved a hand at her to quiet her down. Ani was asleep.

"Is that her?" She whispered, peeking through the foggy glass and shifting foot to foot in the fresh snow.

"Yeah mom, that's Ani." He smiled, a little proud, a little pleased with himself.

"Poor dear, must be exhausted."

"Yeah," he runs a hand through his hair, realizing he should have cut it.

"Well, give me your things. I'll get everything squared away, okay?"

"Thanks, mom."


	3. Chapter 3

She blinks awake, confusion on her face as it takes a minute to realize where she is. Though, with the snow coming down like it is, it's likely she can't see a foot out of the car.

"We here?" She stretches, crackling all manner of bones and tendon along her spine.

"Yeah. You sleep well?" He had been watching her, taking the small moments before the flurry of family and dinner could burst their little private bubble.

"Decent enough, haven't been in a real, honest to goodness car in ages." She leans over the center console, setting her chin in hand. He leans in, pressing his forehead to hers and a small kiss to her cheekbones.

"Mom and Dad are anxious to meet you." She smells like cut stone, vanilla and gun oil. It's a nice scent, heady and full, gone in the instant it arrives.

"They won't like me." She looks away, scowl beginning to pull down her full, soft lips. He turns her face back to him, smiling as ever.

"Doesn't matter. I like you. That's what counts." He shakes her chin slightly, scrunching his nose as she does to hers. "And besides, who doesn't like Commander Shepard?"

She pushes his arm again and he hops out of the car, skittering to her side to open the door. His mom, he knows she's watching and she raised a gentleman, as she's so fond of saying. He offers her a hand to help her out, commenting on the ice and slush that would take a desert gal down in less than a second.

"_Jesus_, does it always just vomit snow up here?" She says as her foot slips and she nearly lays them both out.

"Not during the summer, at least, not too much anyway." He has to half-drag, half-carry her up to the house and they both laugh the entire way. What a show for mom, he thinks. As he pushes the door open, the countdown to the grandkid conversation starts ticking off in his head. He can only hope she waits until Ani is out of the room when it comes.


	4. Chapter 4

She's in the kitchen, helping mom with the dishes. It's such an odd sight, a domesticated Shepard is … unexpected, to say the least. He sits with his father who is eyeing him sidelong, many questions, Kaidan knows, but this stoic and prideful man won't voice them aloud. Not while the women are in earshot.

He sat back, trying not to smirk too proudly. Even so he knew his father was watching him diligently.

"So, you commanding officer, huh?" His father shakes his head, seemingly turning his attention back to his newsfeed.

"Her name is Ani, Dad. And … well," he was sure this conversation would have happened eventually, but it didn't make him any less prepared. Hell, he didn't even know what they were, so how could he explain it to his father, of all people?

"You know the regs, Kaidan."

"Yeah Dad, I know -" His father waved a hand, stopping him mid-sentence.

"You better be serious about her. Dead serious or the Brass will come down so hard -" Kaidan mimicked the motion of his father, perhaps a little more indignant than he intended.

"I _am_ serious about her." He spoke softly without intending and shocked himself at the admission. It hadn't dawned on him just how much he cared for her. He loved her, in that instant, he knew it for fact. His father's brows went up into his hairline and he shook his head, unwilling to offer another word.


	5. Chapter 5

She puts her head on his shoulder, curling calloused fingers along his hip. The whole house is quiet and the little sounds of old creaky wood are keeping him awake. He thinks she is too, but neither of them are speaking. So he pulls her in, nuzzling his chin against her hair.

"Hm," she hums quietly, as though she's posing a question.

"So, you met my parents." Her hands still, letting in the barest hint of cold under the heavy blanket.

"Yuh, I did. They're nice."

He doesn't want to scare her off. He doesn't want to make the words spill from his mouth, either. Quite a dance, he figures. He's sure enough she cares for him, but he's a cautious man, one with integrity bred down into the bone.

Still, since he's come to this realization, he can't let it go. Not while it's swirling around his head and she's here, in his house, with him. There's no one else, he knows it - at least, he thinks he does.

"So," he starts, whispering into her hair. "What are we, Shepard?"

"Shepard and Alenko …?" She says. Her head inches, trying to find his eyes in the dark, but he won't let her. He can't show her the expression he knows he's wearing.

"Yeah," he barely gets the words out before she's wiggled out from his grip and is on top of him, hair curtained over her face and hands digging into his shoulders.

"What do you want to be?"

He sighs, fingertips on her thighs. "Shepard and Alenko."

It's good enough, he thinks, for now. He doesn't want to rush this feeling. He doesn't want to cheapen these little moments he knows he'll cling to with fervor. They are his and hers, as it should be.


End file.
